A blog in reviewal of all those good times had as a child in front of a glowing screen. Whether it be an old Mac, an old PC, Nintendo, or Sega...all brands, genres and skill-levels will be covered in detail. Were you a fan of NBA Jam? How about The Secret of Monkey Island? Or were you more of a Power Pete kind-of-guy?
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Monday, February 22, 2010

A Bit of Boredom Relief: IPhone Games

HOW MANY BITS, MERCER? 5/8 BITS

I have had an Iphone since the First generation version came out. I remember watching the television commercials that played in between Nip/Tuck, and thinking "Oh Wow, I want one of those." I begged and begged my father, until he came to the mall with me, the day after Thanksgiving, and bought me one.

Recently, however, I started delving into Iphone Apps, and really scouring the globe to find the best games to occupy my time between classes. Here are a few of my favorites:

Plants Vs. Zombies: This adorable game is built on the premise of having ones plants protecting your house from Zombies. The levels go up periodically. I have only gotten to around level 15 at this point, but it's good for casual gaming, like waiting in line, or sitting between classes. My favorite aspect of this game is the animation style, the adorable little plants and the style of the different levels of zombies.

I also think it's neat because this is not only a game for IP

hone, but it was previously a casual game for PC. Now, I'll admit that I have not played the PC version, but it's good news for those of you not necessarily fortunate enough to have an iPhone.

Inotia 2: This cute little game provides me a close-to-WoW experience while far from home. It's an MMO game available for iPhone that combines the adorable chibi animation of Ragnarok, with the questing, parties, and other great aspects of WoW. For example, they have similar classes: Thiefs (Rogues), Templars (Paladins), Mages, etc. What's really neat is that you can play it with other friends of yours with just access to the internet.

I will say, this is not such a casual game, it moreso requires direct attention much akin to sitting in the waiting room at the doctor's, or maybe before bed. I do enjoy it, but if I'm at home and willing to take the time to sit down and game, I'd much rather sit down and do some questing on WoW, rather than cramping up my fingers with the iPhone controls.

Tap Tap Revenge: I have always loved DDR, Guitar Hero, and other games that have moving shapes that requires pressing a button when the shape hits the bottom of the screen. Maybe that's why I enjoy Tap Tap Revenge so much. This innovative app plays music (some uploaded by users, some preloaded) and requires the user to press button in beat with the song that's playing.

It's a great way to kill a few minutes while waiting for the bus, or a ride. Similarly to Plants vs. Zombies there are levels which get built up each game you play. Each time you win, you get tokens and points which you use to buy new songs and new gear for your avatar, similarly to Guitar Hero.

Monkey Island: Need I say more? The iPhone has a version of the original Monkey Island; and we all know how much I love that (see previous post for more information). My boyfriend discovered this app for me, and I danced in my seat with excitement. The storyline is exactly the same, but the controls are different.

It did take me a little extra time to figure out how the walking function and clicking function worked, but as soon as I did I enjoyed this game just as much as the original. Similarly to Inotia, this requires some sit down time, however.